Summary: Compared to younger people, those over the age of 60 are more likely to become influenced by other people’s spontaneous financial decisions. According to research, older individuals, particularly those with higher emotional compassion, were more likely to modify their financial interests after observing aggressive behavior.
In comparison, younger individuals tended to stay with their authentic financial choices. These observations could guide initiatives to enable older people to make wiser financial decisions in a society where social influences are prevalent.
Important Information:
- Older people are more influenced by other people’s spontaneous financial choices.
- Younger people resist cultural influence, maintaining classic financial preferences.
- Older adults may have higher levels of psychological arousal, which increases their tolerance for impulsive effect.
Origin: University of Birmingham
A new study found that older people are more likely to become influenced by their younger counterparts ‘ aggressive fiscal choices.
People over the age of 60 are more susceptible to being influenced by different people when making spontaneous financial decisions, according to studies conducted by researchers at the University of Birmingham and the University of Oxford, in the journal Communications Psychology.
The investigation sought to understand delayed pleasure and how our social norms and attitudes change over time. To test how age affects these behaviours, a group of 76 young adults ( aged 18–36 ) and 78 older adults ( aged 60–80 ) were recruited.
These individuals were properly matched based on gender, knowledge, and years of education. Regardless of age, older people were getting well-to-do and going through rigorous testing to make sure they were free of memory or additional factors that might affect their decision-making.
In an age of an ageing population and growing propaganda, senior writer Professor Patricia Lockwood from the University of Birmingham said:” It is crucial to know how age affects person’s sensitivity to control. People’s tastes for receiving money sooner than later are one important factor that could influence them. This understanding is crucial for developing strategies to ensure that people make wise financial decisions throughout their life.
All participants in a decision-making job had to make a series of choices, one of which required them to choose between an aggressive choice that would result in a smaller amount of money being received right away, and a restricted choice that required them to receive a larger amount of money after a delay.
Participants were aware that their options had real consequences, which motivated them to reveal their true financial preferences because one of these decisions may be realized as a reward transaction at the end of the experiment.
Participants then observed and learned about the decisions made by two “other folks” who had already completed the same decision-making task before ( actually created by a computer ).
One set of choices favoured the quick, more aggressive options, while the other established leaned towards the delayed, more restricted options, compared to the participants ‘ own decisions. Eventually, the participants re-enter their own decisions.
This enabled the researchers to use sophisticated mathematical modeling to accurately assess the participants ‘ economic preferences and determine how other people’s preferences were influenced by them.
The results revealed that older individuals were more prone to social impact, particularly from the more aggressive person. Older individuals were more likely to alter their desire to make impulsive decisions themselves after seeing an impulsive person who would frequently choose the latter.
In comparison, younger adults were more receptive to such influence, having a tendency to stick with their original choice also after witnessing someone choose the impulsive option on multiple occasions.
The researchers also examined how individuals ‘ self-reported mental states differed in their social sensitivity.
In older adults, those who reported being more physically motivated and having higher levels of emotional emotion were more significantly affected by spontaneous social impact.
These findings, according to senior author Professor Patricia Lockwood, “underline the possibility that there may be significant differences in how older people are influenced by another person’s monetary choices.”
They may tell evidence-based programs that help people make sound financial decisions throughout their lives and become aware that those decisions may have a negative impact on them if their own decisions are confirmed by further study.
In an age of high rates of misinformation on social media, head writer Zhilin Su stated:” It is crucial to understand the science behind cultural influence so we can have a meaningful and beneficial impact on people’s lives.
About this news about aging and psychology
Author: Tony Moran
Source: University of Birmingham
Contact: Tony Moran – University of Birmingham
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: The findings will appear in Communications Psychology
